


My Burden To Bear

by PrickleBrickleCitrus



Series: There Are No Stars in the Sky Here [2]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Corvo loves his daughter, Father/Daughter Support, Low Chaos Emily Kaldwin, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 03:36:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14926376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrickleBrickleCitrus/pseuds/PrickleBrickleCitrus
Summary: “You don’t have to justify this to me. I know what it’s like.”





	My Burden To Bear

The world is quiet around them, but Emily can feel the buzz and hum of the Void energy through the silence. It moves through the trunks of the flowering trees that upend her throne and pulses from the others who were trapped in stone. It’s been two months and somehow, she cannot imagine a world without it.

Most notably, she can feel the remnants of it on her father. A steady, cool wave that is distinctly different from the fierce heat of Delilah’s lingering tricks. She turns to face him, brows knit tight and a tenseness in her shoulders. A part of her wasn’t expecting to find him alive, but there is relief deep in her heart at seeing the frown on Corvo’s face, even if it makes her sad.

When he meets her gaze, he reaches out slowly and grasps her left hand in both of his. The touch is firm and endearing, somehow siphoning away a part of the hurt she feels. Tears well up in her eyes.

“You don’t have to justify this to me. I know what it’s like.” His grip tightens, carefully covering the mark that now rests there.

Even after two months in stone, her father’s voice is as steady and calm as it has ever been. He is a reminder of everything Emily fought for and the force behind every decision she made. Above all else, the warmth and love of his touch remind her of the mother she finally let go, and her words that she can still hear echoing in her head.

_I love you, and this is the final thought I carry in to nothingness._

Emily breaks, unable to hold everything within her any longer. She covers her face with her free hand, tears flowing freely between quiet sobs. Next to her she feels the quiet strength of her father pressed against her side as he rests his forehead against her shoulder. She lets everything go, everything that she’s able to let go of.

She remembers all the nights on Megan’s ship in Karnaca, the dreams she had of her father and whether she would be too late to save him. She remembers the guilt, wondering if she could have done something - anything - to stop Delilah from doing what she’d done. If there was something she could have done to stop all the unnecessary deaths, all the Overseers and guardsmen, civilians and servants. This city - this _empire_ \- was hers to protect, to watch over, and she failed.

Corvo wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close to place a kiss at her temple. “You haven’t failed, Emily.”

She leans in to him, everything around her blurry from tears. “It feels like failure. Like I should have been able to stop it. I know that Delilah is gone, but it’s as if she’s somehow taken everything with her.”

Corvo strokes her shoulder slowly as he turns his eyes out across the throne room. There is destruction hidden beneath the growth of trees and flowers, but it isn’t too late to salvage what’s left behind.

“I know,” he murmurs. “But she didn’t.” Looking back to Emily, he smiles softly. “I’m here. You said there were people still here in Dunwall, and there are those across the Isles who support you. And,” he adds, pulling away to grasp her left hand once again, “this isn’t the first time we’ve pulled Dunwall from the edge. We can do it again.”

She breathes in deep and closes her eyes in an attempt to quell the anxiety that tightens in her chest. “There’s so much less this time. I saw it out there. What Dunwall looked like from the ship.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know how much can be saved.”

Corvo is silent, contemplative before he speaks. “Not everything can be saved.” The words have much weight to them, but she knows their wisdom. “Dunwall can be rebuilt, we just have to find the right place to start.”

In a small moment of clarity, Emily remembers Delilah’s notes in the chapel and the harmony of the runes. She turns, stands and walks towards the branches surrounding the throne before carefully removing one of the runes. The energy in the room shifts strangely, and when she turns around Corvo is watching her with curiosity. In the back of her head, she can hear a small voice telling her to smash it to pieces.

So she does. It drops to the floor with a soft thud and she smashes the heel of her boot against it as hard as she can. A loud crack echoes through the room as black and purple smoke rise and fade from the pieces of bone. Whatever energy the runes give off shifts again, and suddenly the room feels lighter than before.

When she looks up to her father, there is an almost devilish look in his eyes and a small smirk on his face. She smiles back.

Emily decides, then, that this will be their starting place.

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wondered what their conversation would be like after Emily saves him. I imagine Corvo wouldn't question her decision to accept the mark, though it might make him sad.
> 
> I also took some liberties here in interpreting what is known about runes and whatnot. They never explicitly say how the runes and the painting were disposed of, but I imagine smashing them would effectively render them useless without necessarily undoing the "magic". I also like to imagine that they would take great pleasure in destroying them.


End file.
